Mother guilty of neglecting baby to point of death failed to seek help fearing domestic violence, court told

A mother guilty of neglecting her infant son - who arrived at hospital near death - failed to seek help out of fear of her violent husband, a court has heard.

A mother whose almost-four-month-old baby was taken to hospital “close to death” with severe dehydration and multiple fractures was unable to seek help for the child because she was the victim of domestic violence, a court has heard.

The child’s parents, of West Lakes, appeared in the District Court on Thursday to hear submissions on sentence after each previously pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal neglect.

The pair, who The Advertiser have chosen not to name to protect the identity of the children arrived at court together, but the mother was ordered to appear in court via CCTV while the father appeared in person.

The parents were living in Port Pirie when they were arrested in later 2018 after taking the “extremely vulnerable” infant to hospital, where he was found to be suffering severe dehydration, nappy rash, renal failure and fractures to his skull, leg and ribs.

Chris Allen, for the 33-year-old woman, said his client had not sought help for the child sooner, despite him experiencing feeding difficulties for weeks, because of her relationship with the child’s father which involved domestic violence, coercion and control.

“The combination of that type of relationship and my client’s poor sense of self worth meant that she couldn’t take steps that she ought to have taken to alert the authorities to the difficulties that her family was suffering,” he said.

The woman had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorder, post natal depression and a severe anxiety disorder.

Mr Allen said the woman was to be sentenced on the basis she had not sought help sooner, rather than she had inflicted the child’s injuries. He said she had been unaware of the seriousness of her child’s illness or broken bones until tests were conducted.

When the infant declined rapidly in September 2018, the woman “stood up” to the man – who previously cancelled multiple health appointments – and the pair took the child to hospital.

“That was a massive step for her,” he said.

“If she hadn’t taken control at that stage, this little boy would have died,” he said.

He said the woman had not able to speak of her suffering until she was interviewed, alone, by a psychologist in June this year.

A psychological report prepared following that meeting revealed the man’s behaviour had become increasingly violent and controlling, including that he would monitor all her calls and had broken six or seven of her mobile phones. The report said the woman had been subjected to violence including hair pulling, choking and had, at times, feared for her life.

The report also revealed the woman believed the man inflicted the injuries upon the infant when he was asked to change his nappy, and when the man had squeezed him under the guise of “burping” the child.

She had reported seeing the man “slamming” the child’s legs on the change table, while saying “you little piece of s**t”. She also claimed he had spat on the child.

However, she had told the psychologist she did not know how the child sustained the skull fracture.

“(The woman) said she has not disclosed this information to anyone previously, reporting that she feared for her safety,” the report said.

The report said anyone attempting to leave a domestic violence relationship, and the woman in this case, who had also suffered a troubled upbringing “would have found it near impossible to escape the situation”.

Mr Allen told the court the couple’s relationship was now irreconcilable. He said his client was remorseful and urged the court to consider suspending any prison term to be imposed.

Russell Cole, for the man, said he was not able to proceed with submissions because he was awaiting a psychological report.

Prosecutor Tim Preston asked the court to revoke the man’s bail, saying the allegations were “too serious” and it was inevitable that he would be jailed.

Judge Liesl Chapman revoked the man’s bail. The pair will return to court in December.